Iran Makes Waterjet Engine

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Defense Ministry has developed a homegrown waterjet for marine propulsion and a diesel engine for trains, an official said Tuesday.

In comments on Tuesday, Head of the Iranian Defense Ministry’s Organization of Naval Industries Rear Admiral Rastegari said his organization will unveil the two new homegrown propulsion systems by March 2019, including a 1,300 hp diesel engine for railroad transportation and the country’s first homegrown waterjet engine.

Waterjet engines have application in speedboats, the military official added, saying Iran had faced sanctions in supplying this type of propulsion system.

Rear Admiral Rastegari also highlighted his organization’s ability to manufacture civilian watercraft, saying it has so far supplied 180 non-military vessels for fishing and other purposes.

He further touched on a “strategic document” on the Iranian naval industry’s 10-year plans, saying the strategy will save hundreds of millions of dollars, create jobs, and obviate the need for leasing foreign vessels.

Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made great headways in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the arms sphere.

In comments in November 2017, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called for the expansion of the Iranian Navy’s capabilities by making use of the country’s advances in other sectors.